She glanced at Madge, who didn’t even look up from her baking and simply shooed her away with a few quick brushes of her hand.
“Sure, I’d love to,” Callie said.
“You’ll excuse me if I leave the blanket behind,” Seth said. “I don’t want to get it dirty outside.”
“Oh… of course,” Callie said, feeling the color rising warm in her cheeks.
Seth uncloaked his muscular body, and though Callie tried her best to shy away, her eyes couldn’t help but drift immediately back toward him as he tossed the blanket onto the bed against the wall.
His chest was broad and covered with a sparse sprinkling of hair that dipped slightly toward his navel. His stomach was flat and ridged with muscles that bobbed like waves over his torso. Callie tried to avert her eyes, to stop them from traveling further downward, but it was impossible. Her eyes widened at the sight of his full glory, and she nearly remarked aloud, but stopped herself just in time.
Seth cleared his throat, and she jumped, startled. Her eyes quickly darted toward his, and she could have sworn she saw a flicker of a satisfied smile play upon his lips briefly.
“Shall we go?” he asked.
“Oh, yes!” she gasped, relieved that he’d not mentioned her wandering eyes.
He opened the door for her and she stepped out onto the muddy ground. The morning sun was filtering through the hazy mist that had rolled down out of the mountains and coated the clearing around the cabin. Seth extended his elbow, and she wrapped her hand through it, thrilling at the way his skin felt against hers.
She followed him as he walked through the clearing and toward the path that led up the mountain – the very path she’d taken to find the blackberry brambles from which she’d retrieved the basket of fruit for Madge.
“Seth, do you have a last name?” she suddenly thought to ask.
“We do not use them,” Seth answered simply. “But if pressed, I would use the name of my pack, which is Primrose. Seth of Primrose, or just Seth Primrose would be fine.”
“I’m sorry that I don’t know more about your kind,” Callie apologized. “I really never believed you existed until I met Madge.”
“I know surprisingly little about your kind, as well,” Seth admitted. “What little I do know has been largely unpleasant.”
“How so?” Callie asked.
“I’ve seen human hunters killing indiscriminately for no reason other than sport,” he answered. “I’ve seen them wipe out hundreds of acres of forestland overnight for the sole purpose of building entertainment venues – taking away the homes of thousands of creatures without a second thought. I’ve… I’ve experienced their brutality first hand, though it’s something I’ve no wish to speak of ever again.”
Her grip on his arm instinctively strengthened as she felt a pang of sorrow for whatever he’d been through.
“Yes, humans can be quite barbaric,” she acknowledged. “I’ve seen my share of human behavior that I wish I could forget.”
“Nothing too personal, I hope,” he said.
“My own family disowned me for something I didn’t do,” Callie told him, gathering a bit of bravery. “They didn’t even ask me what happened. They just told me to never contact them again. My so-called friends, every last one of them, did the same. They all abandoned me and left me to fend for myself during the worst time of my life.”
“Would it be asking too much for you to tell me what they think you did?” Seth pressed.
Callie sighed and stopped walking. Seth paused beside her and turned to face her, leaning in slightly as if eagerly anticipating her revelation.
“I guess I might as well just tell you,” she said. “I’ve been accused of embezzling millions of dollars from my employer.”
“Em-bez-el-ing,” he enunciated slowly. “Is that like stealing?”
“Basically,” she answered. “Only I didn’t do it. I don’t even know why I’m being accused of it.”
“How is it that you are free?” he asked. “I thought that kind of thing generally got humans put into jail.”
“It does,” she said. “But I overheard my boss talking to his assistant, and I heard they were about to have me arrested. So I ran. I packed most of my important stuff into storage and just ran. When I called my parents for help, it was already on the news and they told me to never contact them again. My closest friends all said the same thing.”
“So you truly are alone in the world,” he commented.
“I’m afraid so,” Callie said, her head hanging in shame.
Seth lifted her chin with a finger, pulling her gaze to his. He leaned in so closely she thought he might kiss her.
“From this moment on, you will never be alone again,” Seth said. “You are a part of my pack now, and that will never change.”
Her lips parted, unsure what to say. Did he mean he was taking her as his mate, or did he only feel sorry for her and he was inviting her to live with his pack so she wouldn’t have to be alone?
She could feel his warm breath on her face, and she longed to feel his lips against hers. She stood on her toes, aching to be as close to him as possible, but he released her chin and backed away.
“Did I do something wrong?” she couldn’t resist asking.
“No, Callie,” he answered. “I just… let’s walk.”
He began to walk away from her, and she quickly caught up and matched his stride as closely as she could.
“So what’s your pack like?” she asked, sensing he wanted a change of subject.
“It is fairly small by shifter standards,” he said. “Twelve in total. We used to number in the hundreds, but human encroachment into our territory as required some… downsizing.”
“Some left?” she asked.
“Some left, yes,” he said. “Others were slaughtered by the humans.”
She shivered and asked, “But aren’t shifters stronger and faster than humans?”
“In every way,” he said. “But even we are no match for human weapons when they come in packs.”
“You mean they’ve come to kill you in groups?” Callie asked.
“When they want our territory for building, they will stop at nothing.”
For the first time, Callie truly realized she didn’t want to be a part of human society anymore. She’d ignored such atrocities for so long, but when faced with this… seeing first hand the way humans could ruthlessly slaughter just for profit or fun… she realized why she’d never fit in before and likely never would.
“I don’t want to go back,” Callie blurted out, freezing in her path again.
“To Madge’s?” Seth asked, pausing and turning to face her once more.
“No… to… to the humans,” she answered. “I don’t fit in there. I don’t think like they do. I don’t act like they do. I don’t feel like they do. I don’t want to go back.”
“Then don’t,” he shrugged. “You can live with my pack.”
“You think they’ll accept me as one of you?” Callie asked.
“In time,” he answered. “It’s never easy when a human comes to live amongst a shifter pack, but in time you will be one of us and they will all accept you as family.”
“Family,” she muttered. “Hopefully the kind of family I’ve always wanted, and not the kind I was stuck with when I was born.”
Seth bridged the distance with them in a heartbeat, taking her shoulders firmly in his hands and probing deep within her eyes.
“Forget that family,” Seth said. “Right here, right now. They no longer exist. We are your family now, and we will never abandon you. Do you understand?”
He shook her slightly, and she nodded. Then he eased his grip, but did not release her. She stared up at him, addled.
“Callie, I must be honest about something,” Seth said. “When I came to Madge, I did so because my brother demanded it. He was right about me needing to find a mate. Every Alpha needs a mate. But I never expected… I mean, I didn’t think…”
�
��What?” Callie asked softly.
“I didn’t expect you,” he said.
“What did you expect, then?” she asked, hoping he wasn’t disappointed with her.
“The few human females I have met have been… well, they’ve been full of themselves,” he answered. “They’ve cared about money. They’ve cared about appearances. They’ve cared about power. But they were terrible on the inside. Empty. I’d come to think all human females were the same, but I see I was wrong.”
Callie’s breath hitched. Was he really saying he liked her? That he found something in her worth exploring further? She swallowed hard and struggled to find the right words to express how she was feeling.
“Do you think… I mean, could you ever…” she stammered, unable to speak aloud the words she so wanted to say.
“I’ve heard that Madge can work miracles,” Seth said gently, cupping her face in his large hands and pulling her toward him. “But I never believed it until now.”
Callie’s eyes closed as his lips closed over hers. Her hands instinctively found his forearms and curled around them as his tongue slid across the crease between her lips. She parted them, and he slipped his tongue inside.
Her heart was thundering in her chest so furiously that she thought the storms were returning. Her knees went weak, and she found it difficult to stand. Seth instinctively released her face and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her against him and steadying her. Her arms slid up to his biceps and rested there.
A low rumble erupted in Seth’s chest, and it caused her to shiver. She could feel his hardness growing and pressing against her thigh. She ached to feel him inside her. Despite having only just met him, she felt more relaxed with Seth than she ever had with any human.
Seth’s muscles twitched and then began to tremble. The rumble sounded within his chest again, and he suddenly broke off their kiss and backed away from her, panting and gritting his teeth.
“What’s wrong?” Callie asked breathlessly.
“Nothing,” he said through the clench of his jaw. “I just need a moment to regain control.”
“Control of what?” she asked, noting his entire body shuddering as he clutched his hands into fists and breathed deeply.
“The wolf,” he growled.
Callie swallowed a lump that had risen into her throat and nodded. She blinked at him in wonder, but wasn’t afraid.
“You do not fear me,” he noted as his breathing began to regulate.
“No, I don’t,” she agreed.
“Why not?” he asked.
“I can’t explain it,” she shrugged. “I just know you’d never hurt me.”
“We should return to the cabin,” he said. “Madge will be expecting us.”
Callie nodded, but she wanted very much to keep walking with him. She wanted to go back to his den and stay there forever.
Chapter Five
Seth turned away from Callie and began to walk toward Madge’s cabin, his wolf still fighting him for control. He could sense his behavior was upsetting her in some way, but he was powerless to stop it. He walked quickly, never realizing how far ahead of her he was getting, or how hard she was struggling to keep up.
He struggled inwardly, his wolf still aching to claim her right there on the path. The rumble in his chest sounded again, and he gritted his teeth and clenched his fists as he pushed the wolf deep down into the pit of his stomach and tried to trap him there. It wasn’t time, yet. He had to take things slow. Human females needed that. He may not know much about them, but he knew they needed time before coupling. He’d heard it over and over.
“Ouch!” Callie cried, and he turned just in time to see her tripping over an errant root that had grown across the pathway.
He tried to rush back to catch her before she tumbled into the mud, but he was too slow. She landed face down with a splat, and he stooped to help her up.
“Are you alright?” he asked her, taking her hand and trying to help her to her feet as mud coated her face and dripped from her hair.
“Ow,” she said as she tried to put weight on her right ankle. “Damn it! I think I sprained it.”
He carefully squeezed her ankle with his fingers and she sucked in a breath. He could feel the swelling already. She teetered on one foot and tried to hobble, but she gasped as soon as pressure fell on her wounded ankle.
Without asking for permission, he scooped her up into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and bit her lip, and he could detect a hint of apprehension in her, but she did not object. He started down the mountain path toward Madge’s cabin.
Madge was waiting just outside the door. She waved them quickly inside.
“Poor dear,” Madge said, gently removing Callie’s muddy shoes and tossing them into the grass outside. “Let’s get you out of these muddy clothes.”
Seth lowered her feet carefully to the wooden floor, and Callie put all of her weight onto her left foot.
“Well, hurry up!” Madge demanded. “Give me that muddy dress so I can wash it!”
Callie’s eyes swelled large, and she paused, clenching the dress’s fabric protectively at her throat. Madge sighed and rolled her eyes.
“Turn around, would you?” Madge asked Seth.
“What for?” he asked. Then he quickly glanced at Callie and said, “Oh. I get it.”
Seth turned away, and Callie slipped out of the muddy dress and handed it to Madge. Madge then gave her the patchwork quilt from her bed to cover herself with.
“But it’ll get all muddy,” Callie argued.
“It’ll clean right up, as will you,” Madge said.
Callie wrapped herself in the blanket and sank slowly and miserably onto Madge’s bed, and Seth asked, “Can I turn around now?”
“I suppose,” Callie answered.
Seth noticed Callie was clinging to the blanket so tightly her knuckles were blanching pale. She had tucked it in all around her, hiding every possible inch of her flesh.
“I’m going to the washtub outside,” Madge said. “When I’m back I’ll fill a tub for you so you can clean up.”
She left the cabin and Callie stared at the floor. Seth wanted to apologize. He knew it was all his fault she’d fallen, and his stomach was knotted with guilt. He worried she’d never speak to him again, as she seemed to be avoiding eye contact.
Callie sat on the edge of the bed and picked at the lint that covered the blanket in tiny balls, her finger occasionally running absently along the seams between the patches that made up its surface.
Seth could think of nothing to say. Had he ruined his chances with her? Would she ever forgive him for running off so hastily? Damn his wolf! If he hadn’t felt his hormones raging out of control, this never would have happened!
“Can I get you anything?” he finally asked.
Her eyes never left the blanket as she shook her head solemnly.
Yep, it was too late. She hated him for deserting her. He hated himself. He should have been right there beside her like a good Alpha should, protecting her at every moment from every possible danger. He’d just met her, and already he’d failed her. He was raised to be better than this! He’d let his desire take control and it had cost him dearly.
How could Madge have not seen this coming? She should have warned him. Maybe she was no fortuneteller at all. Maybe he’d been duped. Maybe this whole thing was a bad idea right from the beginning. He’d be sure to give Wyatt and earful when he got back to the den.
Seth could sense Madge doing something nearby, but he was focused on Callie. He’d come here expecting… well, he wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t her. He wasn’t expecting to find a sensual woman with lush curves and the sweetest disposition of any female he’d ever run across. And he certainly wasn’t prepared to find a woman who was helpless and in need of protection to the depths that Callie seemed to be. It was everything he’d secretly hoped for, even if he hadn’t realized it himself.
And now he may have los
t her before he even truly had her. He’d have to do something to make it up to her, but what?
How he wished he’d paid more attention to the tales told around the fire of human females. All he’d really remembered was that one must be patient at first, because they needed time to get to know a male before coupling, and that some of them could be arrogant, rude, demanding and selfish.
Callie seemed to be none of those things. He had a keen sense of emotion, and he rarely felt any negativity from her. He detected fear, apprehension, perhaps a bit of self-loathing at times… but no hatred, no cruelty, and not a single selfish thought.
The Alpha's to Share: A BBW Paranormal Shifter Romance Page 3